COUNCIL OF EUROPE DELEGATION FOR ENVIRONMENT VISITS CRO LOWER HOUSE

HOUSE ( Editorial: --> 2057 ) ZAGREB, Nov 19 (Hina) - A delegation of the Committee for the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Bodies of Authority of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly on Wednesday held a meeting with representatives of the Committee for Urban Planning and Environment Protection of the Croatian parliament's Lower House. The delegation is on a three-day visit to Croatia. According to Radimir Cacic, head of the Croatian parliamentary Committee, "the Parliamentary Assembly delegation arrived with the task of investigative commission in relation to the problem concerning the construction of Plomin II, a coal-fired thermal power plant in Labin, on the Istrian peninsula. They arrived at the request of the Green Action of Istria, who had contacted them directly." The chairman of the Council of Europe committee for ecology and head of the delegation, Jean Briane, said that the Council delegation arrived to hear the Croatian side of the story and about the problems surrounding the construction, in order to provide assistance. They had not come as judges or arbiters, he said. The Council of Europe delegation was interested in how much local population knew about problems resulting from the construction of a new plant, and in what the Croatian parliamentary committee had done in examining pollution caused by the plant Plomin I. They also wanted to know about the status of Croatia's electric power industry and its monopoly. (hina) ha jn 191739 MET nov 97